A transgender soldier, who tragically passed away in 2021 in an apparent suicide following a forced discharge, will now be laid to rest at a national cemetery in Daejeon in central South Korea. This follows a recent decision by a state panel recognizing her death as having occurred in the line of duty, a Veterans Ministry official announced on Wednesday.
In March, the state review committee affiliated with the defense ministry reclassified Sergeant Byun Hee Soo's death as an on-duty incident. This significant decision overturned the previous classification, allowing her remains to be interred at a national cemetery.
An official explained, "After completing necessary procedures, such as a background check, it was determined that there were no grounds to disqualify the interment at Daejeon National Cemetery."
Sergeant Byun Hee Soo had undergone gender reassignment surgery in 2019, two years after she voluntarily enlisted in the military. She expressed a strong desire to continue serving as a female soldier. However, the Army discharged her in January 2020.
Following her discharge, Byun Hee Soo filed a lawsuit against the decision, but she was found dead at her home in March 2021.
Initially, in December 2022, the Army classified her death as "general." However, the following month, the National Human Rights Commission recommended that the defense ministry review this decision. This led to the state panel's recent decision to recognize her death as having occurred in the line of duty.
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